Hindsight: A view of Columbia in 1957

Hindsight: A view of Columbia in 1957

Hindsight: A view of Columbia in 1957

Bob Duncan

In the Spring of 1957 the Texas Eastern Transmission (pipeline) Corporation published a long, well-illustrated story about Columbia in their company magazine called “The Inch.”

There are pipelines that run across Maury County that carry natural gas from Texas and the Gulf Coast all the way up to New England, and I suppose that they used their magazine to feature stories about the communities that lay along their pipelines. The story was written by the Herald’s city editor in those days, Mr. Richard Hines.

The story was so good, and so well-written that the Columbia-Mt Pleasant Chamber of Commerce got permission to reprint it later in that year to distribute locally. I am holding a copy of that reprint that was found in the Jill Garrett Collection, and it is a fascinating snapshot of local life in 1957. The price on the cover is twenty-five cents.

The town’s new slogan was, “Old South Charm, New South Progress.” The main industry was phosphate mining, carbon electrodes and agriculture. Tobacco was a big cash crop and a year-round job for the farmer. There is a wonderful aerial shot of the original fairgrounds, with three fine show barns that, unfortunately, are all gone now. The booklet gives a rundown of most of the larger businesses and industries, but I have another aerial photo showing downtown Columbia at this time. I am cutting this column short so that the good folks at The Daily Herald will have room to print this photo in large enough size that you can see it in detail. I hope that you enjoy it.

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